Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | 18th May 2020: TiE Mumbai has recently organized a series of webinars enabling Startups to remotely connect with mentors and experts. From aiding innovators with answers to their ecosystem-related queries, to addressing concerns regarding the accessibility of funds, attracting the right investor, or devising an effective business plan to overcome all odds, these webinars are helping Startups and Founders thrive through during this unprecedented pandemic.
“Entrepreneurs and Startups will hugely benefit from the experience and expertise of the mentors comprising of top industry stakeholders. Surviving this crisis is extremely crucial and with the help of these webinars and online sessions TiE Mumbai is helping Startups navigate through the situation,” said Atul Nishar, President, TiE Mumbai.
Some of the webinars organized by TiE Mumbai were –
An outlook of India and the world post COVID-19 with Mohandas Pai – Eminent Industry veteran and investor, Mohandas Pai shared his views on the current situation and its impact. He focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the global supply chain resulting in reordering and diversifying the supply chain. While he spoke on the effects of COVID-19 on India and world economy at large, he also said that this will set the stage for growth next year. Business will not be the same as usual, but industries will have to adapt according to the behavior of its customers. India must look at the world as its marketplace Startups will need to build robust and sustainable business models going forward. They should relook at costs and focus on customers. He is optimistic that Startups will bring in the much-needed Digital transformation.
Ask me anything sessions with prolific investors – During these sessions it was unanimously agreed that the current situation is a large economic, humanitarian and societal issue. Education, Healthcare and IT services will see profound changes. It was discussed that it is extremely critical to have cash in this crisis. It is also valuable to re-purpose your team and reimagine your business using innovation. Rapid adoption of Digitization is the trend in the current situation. Most businesses have transitioned to Working from Home, leading to new business models of the future.
My CFO’s rapid impact assessment for your organization’s financial health – Panelists in this discussion used practical and real-life examples to showcase potential suggestions to manage liquidity due to slowdown in revenues and collections, recommendations on cost optimization and gave an investor’s perspective on capital raise during this period.
How to expand your customer base, reduce churn and optimize sales and marketing during COVID-19 – This Q&A discussion focused on looking for opportunities during the bad times. Bootstrapping was deemed necessary and the focus should shift to lead generation and marketing. While businesses must secure cash flow, they also need to understand their customer behavior and develop their customers base.
Mastering sales execution – Businesses are getting disrupted due to the COVID-19 crisis, forcing businesses to pivot, effective Sales Execution is going to become even more critical on limited resources. With this in mind the discussion focused on how does an entrepreneur MASTER Sales execution so that the Go To Market (GTM) initiative is successful, How do we sustain our effectiveness in Sales Execution and the common GTM execution pitfalls to avoid and new challenges to Sales Execution in the Post COVID-19 era.
Navigating investments during and post COVID-19 – This was a brainstorming session with an investor and his investee companies. The discussion stressed on the need for Startups to reinvent themselves. There is potential in every recession and since funding has becomes stage and sector agnostic, investors look at the potential of the business and the team. There is an active need for evolution in thinking and businesses and adoption of new product lines.
Rebooting retail post COVID-19 – Experts from the Retail Industry deliberated that businesses must pivot their models, supply chains must be streamlined, and safety must become non-negotiable going forward. It is no longer good enough to be just agile, it is time to reimagine the business given the new possibilities that have emerged during the lockdown.
Innovation and new business models emerging for a post COVID-19 world – Various business leaders discussed how the current economic situation might evolve, how different geographies and sectors might get affected, how investors view the situation evolving, and their plans for funding.
Legal issues arising out of COVID-19 – This was the second part of the ongoing legal and tax series where experts’ answers questions on an array of legal issues that need attention. The discussing focused on trends and solutions pertaining to cash protection, employees – new hires/layoff/without pay, rent waver off or reduction, taking advantage of compliance relaxation and insurance claims around the disruption of business.
TiE Mumbai Food Network – Celebrity Diaries – In this new series, famous Celebrity Chef-Harpal Singh Sokhi talked about his experiences, his journey, the value of nutritional balance in everyday food and how this balance adds to boosting immunity. He also shared that traditional age-old food is making a comeback now.
